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Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a Great Old One of great power that lies in a death-like slumber beneath the Pacific Ocean in his sunken city of R'lyeh. He remains a dominant presence in the eldrich dealings on our world. Quotations His Worshippers It is unknown how large the throng of those who worship the dreaded Cthulhu is, but his cult has many cells around the globe. The cult is noted for chanting its horrid phrase or ritual: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn," which translates as "In his house at R'lyeh dead C'thulhu waits dreaming."(HPL: "The Call of Cthulhu,") This is often shortened to "Cthulhu fhtagn," which might possibly mean "Cthulhu waits," "Cthulhu dreams,"Will Murray, "Prehuman Language in Lovecraft", in Black Forbidden Things, Robert M. Price, ed., p. 42. or "Cthulhu waits dreaming."Marsh, Philip "R'lyehian as a Toy Language - on psycholinguistics" Other Discoveries Cthulhu is mentioned in other sources, sometimes described in ways that appear to contradict information given the most well-known accounts. For example, rather than including Cthulhu among the Great Old Ones, a quotation from the Necronomicon says of the Old Ones, "Great Cthulhu is Their cousin, yet can it spy Them only dimly." (HPL: "The Dunwich Horror") But different Lovecraft stories and characters use the term "Old Ones" in widely different ways. Human explorers in Antarctica discovered an ancient city, for example, where the Old Ones are described as a species of extraterrestrials, also known as Elder Things, who were at war with Cthulhu and his relatives or allies. The discoverers of the Elder Things were able to puzzle out a history from sculptural records: William Dyer, part of the Antarctic expedition, also notes that "the Cthulhu spawn ... seem to have been composed of matter more widely different from that which we know than was the substance of the Antarctic Old Ones. They were able to undergo transformations and reintegrations impossible for their adversaries, and seem therefore to have originally come from even remoter gulfs of cosmic space ... The first sources of the other beings can only be guessed at with bated breath." He notes, however, that "the Old Ones might have invented a cosmic framework to account for their occasional defeats."(HPL: At the Mountains of Madness) Other stories have the Elder Things' enemies repeat this cosmic framework. In another account, (HPL: "The Whisperer in Darkness") there is a reference to "the fearful myths antedating the coming of man to the earth–the Yog-Sothoth and Cthulhu cycles–which are hinted at in the Necronomicon." That suggests that Cthulhu is one of the entities worshiped by the alien Mi-go race, and repeats the Elder Things' claim that the Mi-go share his unknown material compositions. Cthulhu's advent is also connected, in some unknown fashion, with supernovae: "I learned whence Cthulhu first came, and why half the great temporary stars of history had flared forth." The story mentions in passing that some humans call the Mi-Go "the old ones" (HPL: "The Whisperer in Darkness") Investigations into the cult activity in Innsmouth, Massachusetts has revealed that Cthulhu is also worshiped by the nonhuman creatures known as Deep Ones (HPL: "The Shadow Over Innsmouth") Family With the revelation of writing detailing his relations, we have learned that Cthulhu descends from Yog-Sothoth, possibly having been born on Vhoorl, in the 23rd Nebula. He mated with Idh-yaa on the planet Xoth. His offspring are Ghatanothoa, Ythogtha, Zoth-Ommog, and Cthylla.Harms, Daniel. The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia (3rd ed.) Behind the Mythos According to correspondence between H.P. Lovecraft and fellow author James F. Morton, Lovecraft jokingly reveals Cthulhu's family tree (HPL: "Selected Letters of H. P. Lovecraft IV", Letter #617, to James F. Morton, (April 27th, 1933): Azathoth / ___________________________/__________________________________ / / / Nyarlathotep The Nameless Mist Darkness (The ancient patrician / / gens Viburnia of Haec / / RESPVLICA.ROMANA) Yog-Sothoth------------+---------Shub-Niggurath / / / ____________/___________________ L. Viburnius Marco / / / Nug Yeb / / / P. Viburnius Marco / / Legatus of Legio 11., Cthulhu* Tsathoggua* station'd at Isca Silurum, / / in Britannia Secunda / / in A. D. 103 Shaurash-ho Yabou / / / / / / / Yogash the Ghoul Nush the Eternal / / / / / / / K'baa the Serpent Gilles Grenier, / / Lord of Averoigne / ** / / Viburnia-----------+-----------Ghoth the Burrower / / (one of the Little People) Hippolyte Le Sorcier, / ancestor of Llunwy of Wales Clark Ashton Smith ancestor of Owen Gwynedd and of H.P.L. * First of their respective lines to inhabit this planet. ** This union was an hellish and nameless tragedy. Associated Materials Main Article: Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture Gallery Cthulhu_sketch_by_Lovecraft.jpg|Lovecraft's drawing 5b1d071c622d3bb26b6c26a80d80534e.jpg cthulhu.jpg cthulhurlyeh.jpeg 429434-GreatCthulhu1.jpg Cthulhu.png|Cthulhu, as it appears in Russell's Guide (merzo.net) 66-cthulhu.jpg HickmanCthulhu.jpg|Stephen Hickman's sculpture of Cthulhu Cthulhuagainoncemore1.jpg --Ultimate Cthulhu--.png Artistic imagery Cthulhu has served as direct inspiration for many modern artists and sculptors. Prominent artists that produced renderings of this creature include, but are not limited to, Paul Carrick, Stephen Hickman, Kevin Evans, Dave Carson, Francois Launet and Ursula Vernon. Multiple sculptural depictions of Cthulhu exist, one of the most noteworthy being Stephen Hickman's Cthulhu Statue which has been featured in the Spectrum annualBurnett, Cathy "Spectrum No. 3:The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art" and is exhibited in display cabinets in the John Hay Library of Brown University of Providence. This statue of Cthulhu often serves as a separate object of inspiration for many works, most recent of which are the Cthulhu Worshiper AmuletsCthulhu charms on-sale in Russia manufactured by a Russian jeweler. For some time, replicas of Hickman's Cthulhu Statuette were produced by Bowen Designs,"Other Lovecraftian Products", The H.P. Lovecraft Archive but are currently not available for sale. Today Hickman's Cthulhu statue can only be obtained on eBay and other auctions. Behind the Mythos * George Olshevsky named the nonconvex snub polyhedra after some other Great Old Ones, with the Great inverted snub icosidodecahedron as "Cthulhu". References de: es: Category:Characters Category:Great Old Ones